Knowing the signs and symptoms of diabetes is an important part of catching and treating the disease. After all, over 25.8 million Americans are living with diabetes today—some 7 million of them unknowingly. The longer your diabetes goes without treatment, the more serious the damage to your body’s systems. Early detection and prevention are the best ways to cut down on diabetes related health problems. Recognizing one or more of these symptoms in yourself or someone else can help you do that.
Symptoms of Type One Diabetes:
- Frequent urination
- Unusual thirst
- Extreme hunger
- Unusual Weight loss
- Extreme fatigue and irritability
Symptoms of Type Two Diabetes:
- Frequent urination
- Unusual thirst
- Extreme hunger
- Unusual Weight loss
- Extreme fatigue and irritability
- Frequent infections
- Blurred vision
- Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
- Tingling/numbness in the extremities
- Recurring skin, gum, and bladder infections
Unfortunately, simply knowing the symptoms is not enough to help you catch diabetes before it’s too late. Many people who develop Type Two Diabetes simply don’t have any symptoms until complications set in—causing serious problems. In addition, there are times when these symptoms seem so vague that it is difficult to pinpoint whether a serious health issue has arisen or not. Knowing your risk factors can help.
Since diabetes is a disease that is caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle risk factors, it’s important to put any warning signs into perspective. The larger your risk, the more preventative measures you should take. Risk factors for Type Two Diabetes include:
- Obesity
- Sedentary Lifestyle
- Age
- Hypertension
- High Cholesterol
- Metabolic syndrome
- Genetics
When you know how many of these risk factors you bear, you can begin to put potential warning signs of the disease into perspective. Regardless, if you have any reason to suspect that you have diabetes, you should get yourself screened.